Mark Hitchcock - The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

I n Revelation 6:1-8, the apostle John records what many consider the most vivid and powerful vision in all of Bible prophecy. This section of the book of Revelation is often referred to as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Just reading those five words sends a chill up my spine. And so does the full account in the pages of the last book of Scripture:

Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, Come. I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.

When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, Come. And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, Come. I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.

When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, Come. I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

This gripping imagery of four differently colored horses riding forth one by one across the worlds landscape has captivated hearts and minds ever since the apostle John first received the vision on the island of Patmos in A.D. 95. In this vision, John sees four horses and their riders galloping across the earth, bringing deceit, destruction, and devastation.

More than twenty years ago, when I first began to study Bible prophecy in depth, I read Billy Grahams riveting book Approaching Hoofbeats: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Many people may not realize that Dr. Graham has written several books on Bible prophecy. In fact, he may have written more books on end-time prophecy than on any other subject. Back in 1983, he penned these words in Approaching Hoofbeats:

Some theologians and Bible scholars have thought these scenes as described by the apostle John to be a description of past events. However, most evangelical scholars interpret them as having to do with the futureas do I. In my view, the shadows of all four horsemen can already be seen galloping throughout the world at this moment; therefore, I want not only to apply these four symbols of events yet to come, but also to put our ears to the ground and hear their hoofbeats growing louder by the day .

I can hear the hoofbeats of these horses much louder than when I first began writing this book .

Over twenty years have passed since Billy Graham wrote those timely, sobering words. And if the hoofbeats of the four horsemen could be heard approaching in 1983, what about today, as we have passed into the new millennium? I believe we could safely say that the approaching hoofbeats have become thundering hoofbeats. Just think of all thats happened in the last two decades!

• The computer age has come, along with the Internet and unbelievable technology

• Militant Islam has risen as the worlds most dangerous force

• Two Gulf Wars

• The eruption and continued escalation of violence in Israel

• The emergence and expansion of the European Union

• The 1990s Decade of Globalization

• 9/11

• The capture of Saddam Hussein

Its time to take another look at these four horsemen. Its time to step back for a moment and gain a fresh perspective on the events in our world todayevents that so plainly foreshadow the fulfillment of Johns apocalyptic vision.

• Who are these horsemen, and what do they mean for our world?

• Are there signs that they could be getting ready to mount up?

• Is there any hope for planet earth?

• Will man survive?

The four horsemen have always intrigued me. Ive been drawn to these mysterious riders time and time again. Its always been one of my favorite prophetic portions in all of the Bible. I certainly dont profess to understand everything about them, but I have done my best to interpret their essential meaning and show how world events today seem to be ripe for their coming.

My prayer is that you will enjoy reading this book half as much as I enjoyed writing it. I believe if we listen carefully, putting an ear to the ground, we can hear the thunder of approaching hoofbeats.

A Q UICK , A ERIAL O VERVIEW

As with all the other books in my End Times Answers series, I make the assumption that the reader has at least a basic grasp of the main events of the end times. However, to help make sure that were all on the same page, heres a brief overview of some of the key terms you will see sprinkled throughout this book.

The Rapture is an event that, from our human perspective, could occur at any moment. Its what we call a signless event. In other words, there is nothing left to be fulfilled before this event takes place. It is truly imminent. At the Rapture, all who have personally trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior, the living and the dead, will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and will go with Him back up to heaven. Then, at least seven years later, they will return again with Him, back to earth, at His Second Coming (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

The Tribulation is the final seven years of this age. It will begin with a peace treaty between Israel and Antichrist and will end with the second coming of Jesus Christ. During this time, the Lord will pour out His wrath upon earth in successive waves of judgment. But He will also pour out His grace, saving millions during these dark and terrible days (Revelation 6-19).

During the last half of the Tribulation, Antichrist will rule the world politically, economically, and religiously. The entire world will give allegiance to him or suffer persecution and death (Revelation 13:1-18).